Asylsuchende und Fl�chtlinge in der medizinischen Poliklinik: Ein Vergleich zwischen den Polikliniken Basel, Bern und Genf

Abstract

This cross-sectional study describes the state of health of asylum seekers and refugees and the health services provided to them by the medical outpatient departments of three major Swiss university hospitals, Basel, Berne and Geneva. The comparison of outpatient departments differing in organisational structure facilitated the identification of positive and negative determinants of health service provision. Questionnaires have been filled in by all physicians of the three medical outpatient departments (Basel: 10, Berne: 1, Geneva: 36). All consultations of asylum seekers and refugees have been recorded during the study period (Basel: 42, Berne: 93, Geneva: 187). Interviews have been done with the physicians who coordinated the study. During the study period the majority of the patients originated from former Yugoslavia, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Angola and Zaire. One of the most prominent features of the population investigated has been its diversity in respect to countries of origin, languages, ability to communicate and education. Diversity and low consultation rates per physician could explain many of the problems which have been observed, e.g. the lack of experience in specific approaches to these patients or difficulties to provide interpreters. To improve the health care for this group of patients in medical outpatient departments small teams of physicians should be selected. By these means adequate levels of experience could be achieved and organizational problems could be dealt with more effectively. In addition, the relationship between specific problems of asylum seekers and refugees and more general issues of the interaction between physicians and patients are discussed in view of tasks in research and training.

Reproductive health care for asylum-seeking women - a challenge for health professionals

“…As in earlier studies on health care for migrants, health professionals described language barriers and the legal/social difficulties faced by asylum-seeking patients as challenges they were only partly able to meet [26,41]. We also found that many health professionals considered that caring for this population if often more laborious and emotionally challenging than with other patients, not only because of communication difficulties but also because of the demands for information and documentation made by the authorities in charge of asylum decisions, and the need to comply with the requirements of the HMO.…”

“…Physicians in Switzerland report that their training - both basic and postgraduate - has not prepared them adequately for caring for such patients [25,26]. Despite the difficulties health professionals confront when caring for asylum seekers there are very few studies that discuss their problems [13,27].…”

The evolution of a healthcare interpreting service mapped against the bilingual health communication model: a historical qualitative case study

“…[ 47 ] Migration and Health in Switzerland [ 48 ] Die Sprachenlandschaft Schweiz [ 49 ] Santé des migrants: l’interprétariat médical, aspect incontournable de la prise en charge [ 50 ] Asylum seekers, refugees and health in Switzerland. [ 51 ] Asylum seekers, refugees and health in the nineties [ 51 ] Analytic review of migration and health and as it affects European Community countries [ 52 ] 1995–1999 (‘growth’) On facilitating communication with and healthcare access of asylum seekers, Geneva and Switzerland Asylum seekers and refugees in the medical polyclinic: a comparison between the Basel, Bern and Geneva polyclinics [ 53 ] * Asylsuchende und Flüchtlinge in der Notfallstation [ 54 ] * Asylsuchende und Flüchtlinge in der hausärztlichen Praxis: Probleme und Entwicklungsmöglichkeiten [ 55 ] * On facilitating communication with migrant patients, Geneva and Switzerland Die Arzt-Patienten Interaktion aus der Sicht von MigrantInnen: Vorschläge für die ärztliche Praxis [ 56 ] On introducing interpreter services in healthcare, Geneva and Switzerland The importance of interpreters to insure quality of care for migrants [ 57 ] * Language difficulties in an outpatient clinic in Switzerland [ 58 ] * Addressing language barriers to health care, a survey of medical services in Switzerland [ 59 ] * Medical interpreters have feelings too [ 60 ] * Wenn PatientInnen und Behandelnde nicht dieselbe Sprache sprechen... - Konzepte zur Übersetzerpraxis [ 61 ] * Interpreting in Swiss hospitals [ 62 ] * Sprachbarrieren und Kommunikation in einer medizinischen Poliklinik [ 63 ] Von einer Sprache zur anderen: Kommunikation mit fremdsprachigen Patienten in einer medizinischen Poliklinik [ 64 ] On specific settings where interpreters are needed Use of interpreters in Switzerland's psychiatric services [ 65 ] * Migrationspezifische Aspekte in einem psychotherapeutischen Prozess [ 66 ] Barrières linguistiques et communication dans une policlinique de médecine [ 67 ] On Health and migration in Europe (including information related to Geneva) Asylum seekers in Europe: entitlements, health status, and human rights issues [ 68 ] * Migration and health in the European Union ...…”

“…Asylum seekers and refugees in the medical polyclinic: a comparison between the Basel, Bern and Geneva polyclinics [ 53 ] *…”